Dev diaryShip historyCarrier operations
The task group: Perth, Derwent and Supply join Melbourne
Three escorts now keep station around the carrier, based on the task group that sailed with Melbourne in 1980.
Melbourne no longer sails alone. Three ships now keep station around her.
In early 1980, Melbourne, Perth, Derwent, Stalwart and Supply deployed to the Indian Ocean after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It was the largest RAN task group deployment since the Second World War. The sim takes three of those ships:
| Ship | Type | Station in the sim |
|---|---|---|
| HMAS Perth (DDG 38) | Perth class guided missile destroyer, 134 m | About 2.4 km ahead, off the starboard bow |
| HMAS Derwent (DE 49) | River class destroyer escort, 113 m | About 1.5 km astern on the port quarter, as plane guard |
| HMAS Supply (AO 195) | Tide class fleet oiler, 178 m | About 2 km off the starboard beam |
Perth is placed off the bow line so a catapult launch climbs away clear of her. Derwent sits on the port quarter, away from the approach to the angled deck, which comes in from astern and to starboard.
What they do
- They hold formation as Melbourne steams, with a slow drift of a few metres around their stations.
- Each rolls, pitches and heaves in the same sea as the carrier. The smaller destroyers roll more.
- Each leaves its own wake and bow wave.
- Radars turn.
- Fly into one and it counts as a crash, the same as hitting the island.
Try it
Press O to move the orbit camera from Melbourne to Perth, Derwent, Supply and back. Drag and scroll work as usual.
Still approximate
- The models are simplified. Hulls are lofted shapes, superstructures are blocks, and the guns, launchers and masts are outlines rather than accurate copies.
- Station distances are chosen to look right and stay out of the way of flying. They are not taken from a 1980 formation plan.
- HMAS Stalwart, the fifth ship of that deployment, is not modelled yet.
- The escorts do not manoeuvre on their own. The plane guard helicopter hovers off the port quarter of the carrier, separate from Derwent's station.